Course Evaluation

 I have found it interesting to look back over the course now that I have reached the end and have submitted 10 pieces for Assessment. I found the process of selecting the 10 pieces was a challenge as I wanted to try to show the progression that I have made through the course and the gradual development of techniques that have enabled me to produce better paintings. I can see when reviewing my earlier works some of the limitations that I had. I believe that if I were to approach the exercises again I would produce better work. That is not to say that I am disappointed in the work that I produced, it shows me where, at times, I struggled and endeavoured to overcome the challenges that the exercises set. I believe that during the course I have produced some decent works and there are are number that I am personally proud of and would be happy to show to anyone.

   I have also found the research interesting. I have spent time looking at the work of other artists and their techniques. I have reflected on this in my blog which I hope gives an indication of where I have made connections with my own work. In some cases I have found this to be a humbling experience as I have realised how talented these artists are. However I also realise that this talent is the result of lots of hard work and practice. My appreciation of different styles, different ways of applying paint, allowing myself to learn from mistakes and trying to develop my own style is all part of the journey. I tend to paint in a realistic style and have tried to move away from this and to be more expressive. To try to create mood and feeling into my work. I have a long way to go in this pursuit but I feel that I have made a start. Having stated this I still enjoy creating work that is in a realist style but can choose when this is and is not appropriate to what I am trying to convey.

   Overall I have found the feedback from my tutor, James Cowan, to be positive, insightful and fair. He has made a number of suggestions on ways that my work could be improved. This has included quite detailed remarks of particular flaws in individual paintings. In these cases I have undertaken to make these changes and have re-worked the paintings as suggested. The result has always been a positive improvement. I feel that this has helped me to reflect more on my work and to take time to stand back from it and review whether it has achieved the goals of the exercise. The feedback has also included tips on techniques and artists to investigate to see how they have overcome similar challenges. The response time to the submissions of my assignments was always very quick and I thank James for this. It enabled me to review the previous Parts of the course, both positives and negatives,  and to be able to incorporate these as I moved forward. It also helped me to plan my time so that I did not feel rushed throughout the course and could give sufficient time to the exercises and the research.

   In summary I have moved forward as an artist more in nine months than I have previously done in nine years. I nearly forgot to mention that I also enjoyed the experience of painting outside “en plein air”, despite the cold. Now that it is summer and I have more time I will be taking my paints outside more often.

 

Assessment works submitted

After a lot of deliberation I have made my choices of work for formal submission in July 2018. The 10 works have been mounted on A1 black boards, annotated on the back, listed, packed and ready for posting on 23rd May. In addition I will be submitting three sketchbooks.

The works in order are :

Piece 1

This is a selection of four paintings two from part two “Close to home” and two from part five “Personal development”. The two paintings from part five are both abstract works that my tutor recommended that I include in my assessment submission.

Piece 2

This is my assignment two painting.

Piece 3

This is a selection of three paintings that I produced for part three “Portrait and the figure”. It includes the original painting that I made for assignment three and two other works from exercises completed during part three.

Piece 4

This is my alternative painting, a self portrait, completed for assignment three.

Piece 5

This is a selection of four works completed for exercises completed for Part four “Looking out”

 

Piece 6

This is painting one from Assignment five.

Piece 7

This is painting two from Assignment five.

Piece 8

This is painting three from Assignment five

Piece 9

This is painting four from Assignment five.

Piece 10

This is painting five from assignment five.

In summary I feel this selection is a good representation of the work that I produced over the course. I also feel that it shows a progression and improvement in my painting skills. I will write a further blog looking back over my experiences during the course.